In times of crisis and social turbulence, the mass media play a crucial role. This becomes particularly evident in economic crises within the European Union. The (biased) way the crisis is reported shapes people’s understanding of the crisis and the parties involved. In this study, the coverage of the Greek sovereign debt crisis in the German newspapers BILD, Die Welt, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Süddeutsche Zeitung, tageszeitung and Der Spiegel (online) is examined for the quality criteria relevance, neutrality, balance, and analytical (...) quality. The results show that the reporting is appropriate to the relevance of the topic, but shows deficits in the criteria of balance, neutrality, and analytical quality. During the study period, coverage focuses on a small number of topics, journalists include their value judgments in news and reports. Overall, there is an obvious media bias against the Greek government’s position. (shrink)

Thinkers from the Chinese and Greco-Roman traditions posit that disparate objects throughout the cosmos have mutual affinities. In the Stoic tradition, such affinities are explained through “sympathy.” In the Chinese tradition, the explanatory principle is often called ganying 感應 (resonance). In addition, both traditions use similar philosophical strategies when discussing these concepts. Thinkers cite natural correspondences, placing them in parallel lists as evidence for philosophical truths. On the surface, the analogous concepts and strategies hint that these thinkers share similar (...) philosophical goals. However, analysis of the role natural correspondences play in argumentation discovers fundamental differences between the two traditions. The focus on particular arguments instead of broader cosmological trends offers a different perspective for comparative research, and the conclusions raise questions concerning how scholarship should analyze philosophical trends in early China. (shrink)

SummaryBorn to a noble family in the Italian Trentino, Prati studied philosophy in Austria and Germany. Returning to Italy, he joined the carbonari, a network of revolutionary secret societies. Forced into exile in Switzerland, he worked as an educator alongside Pestalozzi. Following his expulsion from Switzerland, Prati sought refuge in Britain, becoming acquainted with Coleridge, the Benthamite utilitarians, and the Owenites. Following the July Revolution, Prati went to Paris, where he became a Saint-Simonian. Returning to Britain, he sought to convert (...) the British to Saint-Simonism, before undertaking a series of other literary projects. He eventually returned to Italy, where he entered into correspondence with the Roman Catholic philosopher Antonio Rosmini. Prati left behind him a trail of letters, newspaper articles, pamphlets, and books, written in four different European languages. These have been hitherto neglected by scholars, and constitute the basis of the current article. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:A Lex Sacra from SelinousBorimir JordanMichael H. Jameson, David R. Jordan, and Roy D. Kotansky. A Lex Sacra from Selinous. Greek, Roman and Byzantine Monographs, 1993. xii + 171 pp. 3 figs. 19 pls.The sacred law receiving its editio princeps in this monograph was a gift to the Getty Museum whose curator asked the authors to publish it. Since the Museum does not exhibit material of (...) chiefly historical interest, it donated the inscription to the Republic of Italy in 1992. The law is inscribed on the largest lead tablet known to the authors (0.597 x 0.23 x 0.002 m.). The tablet is broken on all sides; its text is written in two columns, A and B, upside down to one another. From the letter forms, and the mention of Zeus Meilichios and the proper name Myskos the authors infer Selinous as the place of provenience. A comparison of the letter forms with those of other inscriptions from the region suggests the mid–fifth century B.C. or slightly earlier as the date of the document. The dialect is a variety of West Greek, agreeing with the language of Megara Nisaia and its colonies. All this is set forth in exemplary fashion in Chapters I and II, along with a transcription and translation of the text accompanied by an extensive commentary with thorough and generally very enlightening discussion of all aspects of the law.The inscription is unlike most sacred laws in that it sets out proper ritual procedure rather than regulating cult finances or the perquisites of officials. The two parts, A and B, share a concern with purification, with A concentrating on sacrifice and giving instructions to a group, while B addresses one person seeking purification. Other rituals mentioned include libations, aspersions, anointing, turning around, and setting out a table and couch, which last the authors interpret as a θεοξενία. These matters and much more are expounded with acuity and a wealth of supporting evidence in Chapters III–VIII, which form the bulk of the book and contain much interesting information more or less closely related to the law. A summary of the evidence assembled in the commentary is followed by a close study of the various rituals (III, IV). After a survey of the supernatural figures, including helpful lists of the cults of Zeus Meilichios, the Tritopatores, et al. (V), the authors investigate the influence of Punic religion on the cult of Zeus Meilichios, and possible connections between the law and curse tablets from Selinous (VII, IX). Overviews of the history of Selinous and of the archaeology of Meilichios' precinct round out the book (VI, VIII).In column A, certain, a new word interpreted by the authors as members of an, are to perform sacrifices to Zeus Eumenes (a new by-name), Meilichios, and the Eumenides before the festival of the Kotytia and the Olympic truce. The most remarkable feature in A is the transformation of "impure" into "pure"Tritopatores. The "impure" receive sacrifices "as heroes"; after purification with wine poured through the roof of a (subterranean?) structure, "as gods." A group's collective ancestors and patrons of procreation, the Tritopatores elsewhere had both national and gentilitial cults without shrines and images. [End Page 326] At Selinous they were the spirits of family members only, not of the citizens as a whole, and had a shrine which is undiscovered as yet. Closely connected with the cult of the Selinountine Tritopatores was that of Zeus Meilichios, a god of purification associated with underworld figures, and usually worshipped in precincts without temples by individuals and groups below the level of the polis. The Selinous text locates Meilichios "in Myskos' " and "in Euthydamos' " which the authors, probably correctly, interpret as "in the plots of."They stress the private, gentilitial aspects of the law in A, drawing a rather sharp distinction between public and private cult. Since the state clearly had an interest in the proper performance of the rites, the authors are at pains to explain the connections between the public and private aspects of the regulations: Myskos and Euthydamos were historical figures and founders of clans having charge of cults which later came to... (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Reviewed by:A Lex Sacra from SelinousBorimir JordanMichael H. Jameson, David R. Jordan, and Roy D. Kotansky. A Lex Sacra from Selinous. Greek, Roman and Byzantine Monographs, 1993. xii + 171 pp. 3 figs. 19 pls.The sacred law receiving its editio princeps in this monograph was a gift to the Getty Museum whose curator asked the authors to publish it. Since the Museum does not exhibit material of (...) chiefly historical interest, it donated the inscription to the Republic of Italy in 1992. The law is inscribed on the largest lead tablet known to the authors (0.597 x 0.23 x 0.002 m.). The tablet is broken on all sides; its text is written in two columns, A and B, upside down to one another. From the letter forms, and the mention of Zeus Meilichios and the proper name Myskos the authors infer Selinous as the place of provenience. A comparison of the letter forms with those of other inscriptions from the region suggests the mid–fifth century B.C. or slightly earlier as the date of the document. The dialect is a variety of West Greek, agreeing with the language of Megara Nisaia and its colonies. All this is set forth in exemplary fashion in Chapters I and II, along with a transcription and translation of the text accompanied by an extensive commentary with thorough and generally very enlightening discussion of all aspects of the law.The inscription is unlike most sacred laws in that it sets out proper ritual procedure rather than regulating cult finances or the perquisites of officials. The two parts, A and B, share a concern with purification, with A concentrating on sacrifice and giving instructions to a group, while B addresses one person seeking purification. Other rituals mentioned include libations, aspersions, anointing, turning around, and setting out a table and couch, which last the authors interpret as a θεοξενία. These matters and much more are expounded with acuity and a wealth of supporting evidence in Chapters III–VIII, which form the bulk of the book and contain much interesting information more or less closely related to the law. A summary of the evidence assembled in the commentary is followed by a close study of the various rituals (III, IV). After a survey of the supernatural figures, including helpful lists of the cults of Zeus Meilichios, the Tritopatores, et al. (V), the authors investigate the influence of Punic religion on the cult of Zeus Meilichios, and possible connections between the law and curse tablets from Selinous (VII, IX). Overviews of the history of Selinous and of the archaeology of Meilichios' precinct round out the book (VI, VIII).In column A, certain, a new word interpreted by the authors as members of an, are to perform sacrifices to Zeus Eumenes (a new by-name), Meilichios, and the Eumenides before the festival of the Kotytia and the Olympic truce. The most remarkable feature in A is the transformation of "impure" into "pure"Tritopatores. The "impure" receive sacrifices "as heroes"; after purification with wine poured through the roof of a (subterranean?) structure, "as gods." A group's collective ancestors and patrons of procreation, the Tritopatores elsewhere had both national and gentilitial cults without shrines and images. [End Page 326] At Selinous they were the spirits of family members only, not of the citizens as a whole, and had a shrine which is undiscovered as yet. Closely connected with the cult of the Selinountine Tritopatores was that of Zeus Meilichios, a god of purification associated with underworld figures, and usually worshipped in precincts without temples by individuals and groups below the level of the polis. The Selinous text locates Meilichios "in Myskos' " and "in Euthydamos' " which the authors, probably correctly, interpret as "in the plots of."They stress the private, gentilitial aspects of the law in A, drawing a rather sharp distinction between public and private cult. Since the state clearly had an interest in the proper performance of the rites, the authors are at pains to explain the connections between the public and private aspects of the regulations: Myskos and Euthydamos were historical figures and founders of clans having charge of cults which later came to... (shrink)

Beginning the nineteenth-century and continuing down to the present, many authors writing on the history of geology and paleontology have attributed the theory that fossils were inorganic formations produced within the earth, rather than by the deposition of living organisms, to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Some have even gone so far as to claim this was the consensus view in the classical period up through the Middle Ages. In fact, such a notion was entirely foreign to ancient and medieval (...) thought and only appeared within the manifold of ‘Renaissance episteme,’ the characteristics of which have often been projected backwards by some historians onto earlier periods. This paper endeavors to correct this error, explain the development of the Renaissance view, describe certain ancient precedents thereof, and trace the history of the misinterpretation in the literature. -/- . (shrink)

According to tradition, Anicius Manlius Severinus Boethius (born c.480 in Rome) died as a Christian martyr in Pavia between 524 and 526. He was a philosopher, theologian, and statesman; as a translator and commentator he is often considered the most important intermediary between the ancient Greek intellectual tradition and the Latin Middle Ages. As the “last Roman” and the “first of the Scholastics,” he is best known for the Consolation of Philosophy, a prison text treating the transitory nature of (...) this world and the soul's ascent toward rest in an eternal God. (shrink)

Hospitality can be considered a key institution in the social relationships in the ancient Mediterranean. To identify the people involved in a hospitality agreement, in certain contexts small objects were used in a similar way to a password, which the Greeks called symbolon and the Romans tessera hospitalis. We know how the latter were used thanks to Plautus' Poenulus. At least 64 pieces are currently known which may be identified as tesserae hospitales. All come from the Western Mediterranean. The majority (...) contain brief inscriptions, written in Etruscan, Latin, Greek, or Celtiberian. They share a series of common features, which impart a clear family resemblance beyond geographic, cultural, or linguistic borders. (shrink)

Otto of Freising was one of the most philosophical historians of the Middle Ages who reflected on the position of historical knowledge among the arts. His History of the Two Cities adjusts earlier models of universal history to show, in the light of his interpretation of Daniel’s prophecy in the Old Testament, how far the Roman Empire had declined, a tragedy that nonetheless carried within it signs of progress and divine interventions. His Deeds of Frederick Barbarossa further illustrate (...) Otto’s belief that history teaches philosophical lessons. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:1. The impetus of Herbert Grundmann's work on researching the religious lives of women in the thirteenth century has led to a reinterpretation of many aspects of this complex subject. Even today, some points remain unclear. At times it seems as if we are confronted with a play in which the actors – the sisters, friars and the papal curia – move in a manner which is difficult to (...) decipher and could even be described as contradictory.In particular, Herbert Grundmann carried out a study on the development of female forms of monastic life which were linked with both the Franciscan and Dominican Friars; however, he neglected to give sufficient attention to the role of the papal curia in both Orders. The action of the papacy was considered merely an answer to demands made by nuns or friars – without grasping the fact that such decisions were due to a complex papal design in the reorganization of regular life.The history of the development of regular communities of religious women has a clear and systematic development. The women originally known as the pauperes dominae inclusae were not institutionally linked to the Order of Friars Minor until 1227, indicating the emergence of Apostolic guidelines to establish and build a new form of monastic life for women which was directly subject to papal authority. Until now, this aspect of religious foundations has not been the subject of scholarly attention, which has instead focused on the initiatives of the "founders" and risked taking the actual work out of context.The present article outlines the steps in the gradual legalization of the "Dominican" Sisters. Its findings are largely based on Jordan of Saxony's correspondence, which has not been given adequate scholarly consideration. Jordan was a Parisian master who entered the Order in 1220. He was subsequently elected Provincial Superior of Lombardy and in the following year until his death in 1237 was General Master of the Order. He also played a significant role in the foundation of the monastery of St. Agnese in Bologna.2. The complexity of the correspondence poses various problems. Not only because its very composition is based on continual discovery but also because of an almost total absence of historical information, which makes certain aspects difficult to interpret. Despite this, there is great interest in the reconstruction of significant moments in the constitutional history of the Order of Friars Preachers – a subject which has been enriched by the studies of Gert Melville as well as those of Sonderforschungsbereich himself.Jordan of Saxony's correspondence is composed of thirty-seven letters addressed to Diana of Andalo, who had professed religious vows before Dominic, and had played a leading role in creating the convent of St. Agnese in Bologna . Five of Jordan's letters were sent to Diana's convent and a further eight were sent to the general community.Beginning with the valuable observations of Angelo Walz, the most studied aspect of the correspondence has been feminine religious life with a particular focus on the spiritual themes which were elaborated on by Jordan. This is evident simply by referring to the observations of Raoul Manselli and Andrea Tilatti. The survival of Jordan's letters is due to the need to prove both their origins and their institutional link to the Order of Preachers. Since the 1430s, the nuns understood that by convincing both the Order and the Roman Curia of this, they might avoid the danger of losing the continued cura of the friars.Using this collection as a starting point, I intend to consider the institutional developments of the Bolognese Monastery, as well as female monasticism linked to the Order of Preachers.3. The Vita beatae Dianae was composed shortly after the middle of the thirteenth century. Despite its title, it primarily.. (shrink)

Translated by Bernard Linsky This is the first English translation of Roman Ingarden’s paper presented at the 8th World Congress of Philosophy held in Prague in 1934: “Der Logistische Versuch einer Neugestaltung der Philosophie: Eine Kritische Bemerkung”, translated here as “The Logical Attempt at a New Formulation of Philosophy: A Critical Remark”. Also translated here are brief discussions by Rudolf Carnap and Otto Neurath. These essays were published in the original German in the Proceedings of the Congress in (...) 1936. This statement of Ingarden’s criticisms of the doctrines of the Vienna Circle has been mentioned in print, but his views have not been discussed, or indeed accurately reported to date. (shrink)

The aim of this article is to elucidate on the role of Georg Kopp, the Bishop of Fulda and later the Bishop of Wrocław, in ending the Kulturkampf, which was the conflict between the German government and the Holy See. The source material is drawn from the German Bishops’ Conferences files, the transcripts of the Sessions of the House of Lords of Prussia and the evaluation materials of Bishop Kopp by his contemporaries. The West German historians dealt with the subject (...) of Kulturkampf after 1945. Also, Polish historians, including Jerzy Krasuski, discussed the issue in the light of its influence on the Polish territories. Despite Hans-Georg Aschoff’ biography, Bishop Kopp’s role in the Kulturkampf has not been sufficiently present, especially in Polish historiography. This article aims to fill that gap. General conclusions were formulated based on the source analysis and the literature on the subject. At the end of the 1870s, Otto von Bismarck, the German Chancellor, decided to put an end to the conflict with the Church. The negotiations on lifting the anti-Church Kulturkampf legislation occurred through the diplomatic channels between the government in Berlin and the Roman Curia. In 1882, there was a conflict in the Prussian bishopric because Georg Kopp turned out to be a supporter of concessions to the government. After this experience, he became involved in the negotiations in Rome. In 1880, 1882 and 1883, the so-called “mitigating laws” were passed to end the Kulturkampf policy. After the third law had been passed, there was an impasse in the relations between Berlin and the Holy See, as a result of which both sides had to make concessions. Kopp continued his diplomatic mission without the knowledge of other bishops and politicians from the Centre Party. However, his attempt to negotiate in the House of Lords was unsuccessful. The initiative was then taken over by Otto von Bismarck and due to his efforts the so-called First Peace Act was passed in May 1886. Some bishops criticized Bishop Kopp for his involvement. Yet, under the pressure from the Pope, the Center Party supported the Bismarck project. Thanks to Kopp’s efforts, who took responsibility for the decisions unpopular in the Church circles, Bismarck managed to end up the Kulturkampf policy. (shrink)

Chemical kinds are generally treated as having timelessly fixed identities. Biological kinds are generally treated as evolved and/or evolving entities. So what kind of kind is a biochemical kind? This article defends the thesis that biochemical molecules are clustered chemical kinds, some of which—namely, evolutionarily conserved units—are also biological kinds. On this thesis, a number of difficulties that have recently occupied philosophers concerned with proteins and kinds are shown to be either resolved or dissolved. 1 Introduction2 Conflicting Intuitions about Kinds (...) of Proteins3 Against Permissive Pluralism4 Against Nominalism, Toward a Duality of Kinds5 Biological Kinds, Chemical Kinds, and Their Relations6 Implications for Biological Individuals7 Implications for Monism and Scientific Practice. (shrink)

Chemical kinds (e.g. gold) are generally treated as having timelessly fixed identities. Biological kinds (e.g. goldfinches) are generally treated as evolved and/or evolving entities. So what kind of kind is a biochemical kind? This paper defends the thesis that biochemical molecules are clustered chemical kinds, some of which–namely, evolutionarily conserved units–are also biological kinds.On this thesis, a number of difficulties that have recently occupied philosophers concerned with proteins and kinds are shown to be resolved or dissolved.

Personalized genomics companies (PG; also called ‘direct-to-consumer genetics’) are businesses marketing genetic testing to consumers over the Internet. While much has been written about these new businesses, little attention has been given to their roles in science communication. This paper provides an analysis of the gene concept presented to customers and the relation between the information given and the science behind PG. Two quite different gene concepts are present in company rhetoric, but only one features in the science. To explain (...) this, we must appreciate the delicate tension between PG, academic science, public expectation, and market forces. (shrink)

Several recent criticisms of the somatic marker hypothesis (SMH) identify multiple ambiguities in the way it has been formulated by its chief proponents. Here we provide evidence that this hypothesis has also been interpreted in various different ways by the scientific community. Our diagnosis of this problem is that SMH lacks an adequate computational-level account of practical decision making. Such an account is necessary for drawing meaningful links between neurological- and psychological-level data. The paper concludes by providing a simple, five-step (...) model of practical decision making. Recasting SMH in terms of this model generates more precise and empirically tractable computational-level hypotheses about the various ways that somatic markers might influence practical decisions. (shrink)

In this paper I argue that Pereboom’s empirical objection to agent causation fails to undermine the most plausible version of agent-causal libertarianism. This is significant because Pereboom concedes that such libertarianism is conceptually coherent and only falls to empirical considerations. To substantiate these claims I outline Pereboom’s taxonomy of agent-causal views, develop the strongest version of his empirical objections, and then show that this objection fails to undermine what I consider the most plausible view of agent-causal libertarianism, namely, reconciliatory integrationist (...) agent-causalism. I then strengthen my criticism of Pereboom by responding to three objections to my view. I show that these objections, though initially challenging, fail to undermine my argument. I therefore conclude that, to this extent, agent-causal views remain a viable option in the contemporary free will debate. (shrink)

Contemporary philosophers and scientists have done much to expand our understanding of the structure and neural mechanisms of joint action. But the phenomenology of joint action has only recently become a live topic for research. One method of clarifying what is unique about the phenomenology of joint action is by considering the alternative perspective of agents subsumed in group action. By group action we mean instances of individual agents acting while embedded within a group agent, instead of with individual coordination. (...) Paradigm examples are educational bureaucracies, corporations, and nation states. There is a phenomenological difference between agents whose actions are subsumed within a group action (“the university did X”) as compared to agents who act jointly (“we did x”). Attending to this difference clarifies what is phenomenologically distinctive about joint action. Appealing to an Aristotelian account of agency and to the metaphysical concept of weak emergence, we argue that what makes paradigmatic group action distinctive is the relative inaccessibility, un-revisability, and evaluative simplicity of the group agent’s goal(s) from the perspective of individual agents. This suggests that a distinctive feature of joint agency is the maintenance of a greater sense of individual agency. Put simply, joint agency is often experienced as an enhancement of the individuals’ agency precisely because our paradigmatic agential powers are extended intersubjectively as we act together. In contrast, group agency often involves a loss of the sense of agency, precisely because it is the emergent group agent that maintains the agential powers. (shrink)

It has been said that the Second World War saved the Russian Orthodox Church from extermination. Ever since the Revolution of 1917, the religious peoples of Russia were constantly persecuted by Soviet ideologists and politicians. Prior to Operation Barbarossa, in 1941, it seemed that the days of the Russian Orthodox Church, the largest religious institution in the Soviet Union, were numbered. However, the unique climate of the Second World War forced the Soviet government to end its war against the church. (...) The Kremlin soon saw the Church as a useful tool to help aid in the re- occupation of Eastern Europe. (shrink)

This essay reconsiders Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s debt to Jean Bodin, on the basis of Daniel Lee’s recent revision of Bodin as a theorist of popular sovereignty. It argues that Rousseau took a key feature of his own theory of democratic sovereignty from Bodin—namely, the dual identity of political members as both citizens and subjects of the state. It further makes the case that this dual identity originates in medieval corporatist law, which Bodin was summarizing. Finally, it demonstrates the lasting impact of (...) corporatist law in eighteenth-century France, highlighting Rousseau’s direct borrowings from the corporatist language and logic of contemporary commercial societies. In this regard, the article revisits and updates Otto von Gierke’s classic argument about the origins of the state in corporatist thought. (shrink)

The main goal of this paper is to prove the thesis that the attempts to transpose the cultural differentiation into the social and economical universalism and globalism must lead to repressive psychosocial totalitarianism on a large scale. Modern human sciences and politics tend to classify the individual in respect to his adaptive efficiency in interactive relation with programmed environment and to qualify him according to given imposed criteria of social functionalism. The correctly socialized individual is expected to be an exchangeable (...) functional unit assessed according to its usefulness in performing a set of particular tasks, despite his cultural background being considered as a second-rate factor, which may affect the social acceptance and correctness of his behavior. However, no community is an exact representation of society because it is held together not by functions but by the values aswell as the forms of their actualization and implementation into the common organization and their way of life. The community is not a contract upon which society is based. The identity of the individual must not be removed from the culture of the community in which he lives and from its constitutive values. It is also rooted in the past and history of striving for self-determination and cultural as well as personal subjectivity. Without these significant cultural and historical components the individual identity is nothing but an operational, programmable algorithm of functional living unit assigned to perform short-term utilitarian tasks. This approach stands in contradiction to the Aristotelian concept of wellbeing and happiness considered as striving for the common good of spiritual values by individuals as well as by human communities. Any extensive and effective civilization neglecting the higher values of moral, symbolic and religious sense of the individual, must face totalitarianism or extinction. (shrink)

This article offers a brief report on the main scientific, philosophical and other output of Professor Stanisław Ziemiański SJ, up to the year 2006.

How can we prove that some fragment of a given logic has the power to define precisely all structural properties that satisfy some characteristic semantic preservation condition? This issue is a fundamental one for classical model theory and applications in non-classical settings alike. While methods differ greatly, and while the classical methods can usually not be matched for instance in the setting of finite model theory, this note surveys some interesting commonality revolving around the use and availability of tractable representatives (...) in the relevant model classes. The construction of models in which simple invariants like partial types based on some weak fragment control all the relevant structural properties, may be seen at the heart of such questions. We highlight some constructions involving degrees of acyclicity and saturation that can be achieved in finite model constructions, and discuss their uses towards expressive completeness w.r.t. bisimulation based equivalences in hypergraphs and relational structures. The emphasis is on the combinatorial challenges in such more constructive approaches that work in non-classical settings and especially in finite model theory. One new result concerns expressive completeness w.r.t. guarded negation bisimulation, a back-and-forth equivalence involving local homomorphisms. (shrink)

Abzj proposed, in a fragment established and translated herein, two methods to build a parabolic mirror. The lack of demonstration, particularly for the first method, raises a difficult question of interpretation. To understand this method, O. Neugebauer used, in an unpublished article translated herein, concepts of descriptive geometry. He then eliminated the space construction used, to keep only simple geometrical considerations known by the Greeks. The second interpretation, given by R. Rashed, is based on the geometrical practices of al-Bnhzj from (...) Ibn Sinān seems to support this last interpretation. (shrink)

This work details the theological sources and moral significance of the life and work of the Scottish moral philosopher Adam Smith (1723-1790). The panel of contributors deepen our understanding of Adam Smith in his religious and theological context and the significance of this understanding for contemporary moral, economic, and political challenges to modern social life. The chapters cover a broad range of disciplinary and historical concerns, from Smith's view of providence and his famous "invisible hand" to the role of self-interest (...) and benevolence in Smith's social and economic thought. A better appreciation for the moral and theological dimensions of Smith's thought provides not only a better understanding of Smith's own context and significance in the Scottish Enlightenment, but also promises to assist in meeting the perennial challenges of properly connecting economic realities to moral responsibility. The book is of interest to advanced students and scholars of the history of economic thought, historical and moral theology, intellectual history, political science and philosophy. (shrink)

Augustine’s account of time is often praised as unique among the philosophical doctrines found in late antiquity, but in the same laudatory breath, commentators almost always reject his ideas. This dual response finds popular voice in Bertrand Russell’s A History of Western Philosophy, in which he states that although he disagrees with Augustine’s conclusions, it is a “great advance on anything to be found on the subject in Greek philosophy.” According to this traditional interpretation, Augustine argues for a subjective idealism (...) regarding time wherein time is dependent on the human mind and is upheld by the mental attitudes of expectation, attention, and memory. Philosophers claim that a purely subjectivist conception of time, though intriguing, is unable to make sense of our best scientific theories. And theologians like Robert W. Jenson have even described Augustine’s account of time as a deeply confused artifact of his incompatible commitments to Neoplatonism and Christianity. -/- In contrast, I argue that Augustine’s view of time is both similar to our current scientific understanding of time and theologically useful. Once we understand Augustine’s approach, both in the context of his time and our own, I believe we can find insight about time as such and learn an important lesson about appropriate methodology for Christian philosophers and theologians. (shrink)